TIRUVANNAMALAI: More than 100 residents of Agaram, one of the few villages in
Tiruvannamalai with zero Covid-19 cases since the pandemic outbreak, have developed fever in the past four days, sparking panic. The fact that the cause is still unknown has accentuated the fear in the village, about 7km from
Arani
town, said A Pachaiammal Srinivasan, chairman of Arani West block that comprises 80 villages including Agaram.
The chief occupation in the village with a population of around 1,650 is farming and very few people migrate to cities for work, she said.
Dr R Madhan, block medical officer of Arani West, told TOI preliminary findings have shown that the fever could be due to water contamination. A 15-member team including a doctor, two health inspectors and a junior epidemiologist is camping in the village. “As a precautionary measure we conducted fogging on the 11 streets of the village and chlorinated the overhead tank, the main drinking source,” he said.
The team plans to conduct a fever camp for the next five days and has begun collecting blood and swab samples. “Of the 65 people screened with non-contact infrared thermometer on Thursday, six had high temperature. We collected blood and swab samples from them and quarantined the other villagers,” he said.
J Prakash, 35, a villager, said, private clinics and hospitals close to the village had shut due to Covid-19 and refused to attend to fever cases. “Most PHCs and the government hospital close to our village are now Covid centres where our villagers fear to visit,” he said .
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